


Just Try

by Sneakyfox55



Series: Just Try [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Brotherly Love, Depression, Frisk (Undertale) Has Issues, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I promise this gets a happy ending, Like someone please give this skeleton a medal, Papyrus (Undertale) Has Issues, Papyrus (Undertale) Knows More Than He Lets On, Papyrus is a Good Brother, Papyrus is very patient, Protective Papyrus (Undertale), Sans (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Sans (Undertale) Remembers Resets, They're not evil per se but uh, Undertale Saves and Resets, Worried Papyrus (Undertale), lots of hugging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21990889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sneakyfox55/pseuds/Sneakyfox55
Summary: He’d tried everything. Saying he’d die if he went. Saying the human would kill him, despite everything he might say to them. Despite wanting to be their friend, despite believing in them...No matter how much he begged,pleadedfor him to stay, even sat on the damned floor sobbing his non-existent eyes out, just so Papyrus wouldn’t go out there. Just so he’d stay.Just so he wouldn’t lose him again.But he always said otherwise, always contradicted him. Even if Sans broke down entirely, he’d still hold him in his arms and promise he’d be back. Promised everything would be alright, and that the human could begood, if they just tried, and then he’d come home all safe and happy andalive.“AND THEN YOU CAN TELL ME ALL THE WORST PUNS YOU KNOW,” he’d say, “AND I WON’T GET MAD AT YOU IN THE SLIGHTEST! IT’S OKAY, SANS. EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY. I’LL BE RIGHT BACK, I PROMISE.”But he never came back.Never.And it was all his fault.
Relationships: Papyrus & Sans (Undertale)
Series: Just Try [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1605517
Comments: 26
Kudos: 176
Collections: My stuff, Undertale





	1. Weak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which the human doesn’t stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE WE GO FOLKS
> 
> This is actually something I've had in mind for a while now, but just found inspiration to finish the first chapter recently. It's just a short thing, only three chapters long obviously, but I wanted to post it to see how people would like it. Let me know what you think so far! ^^

The snow fell steadily, a cold and empty world of white outside. Nothing stirred. No one was nearby. Not a single monster, normally so active and cheerful despite the weather, was in sight, and the golden lights coming from the buildings in town seemed foreboding.

Indeed, all of Snowdin Town was empty.

It was only a matter of time now.

With a sigh, the short skeleton turned and went back inside, shaking the gathered snow off his slippers on the rug. Right on cue, Papyrus walked out of the kitchen and placed a plate of food on the table.

“AH, THERE YOU ARE, BROTHER!” his brother greeted cheerfully. “I WAS JUST ABOUT TO GO FETCH YOU!!”

“why’d you make spaghetti again?” Sans inquired, eyeing the plate as he sat down in his usual spot. “breakfast was a few hours ago.”

“I KNOW, BUT I WANTED YOU TO BE FED BEFORE I LEFT!”

Sans still stared at his spaghetti absentmindedly. “left for where?”

“SANS, DON’T STARE AT YOUR FOOD. JUST EAT IT!”

“where are you going, Pap?”

Still grinning broadly, Papyrus plopped himself in the chair across from him, twirling a fork into his own spaghetti. “WELL, I FIGURED I SHOULD TRY TO STOP THE HUMAN.”

Of course. That was his goal, as always.

Sans continued poking at his meal, silent. Papyrus ate across from him, not uttering a word. It was useless, useless to say anything, but— “it’s pointless tryin’ that, y’know.”

The other skeleton shook his head, quick and firm. “NOTHING IS POINTLESS,” he said.

Sans chuckled humorlessly. “if you say so.”

“THE HUMAN STILL HAS GOOD IN THEM,” Papyrus continued calmly, as though it was just second nature to believe so.

“they’re not gonna listen to you.”

Papyrus shook his head again. “IF ANYONE CAN CHANGE THEIR MIND, IT’S ME.”

Sans let go of his fork, letting it hit the glass of the plate with a loud clatter, causing his brother to look up at him, frowning.

“it won’t work. no matter what you do, it won’t work.”

“IF THEY JUST TRY—”

“they won’t,” continued the shorter skeleton, anger bubbling within him. Papyrus rose to his feet with his own dish in hand, only half-way done with the food, heading for the kitchen anyway.

Sans snapped after him, “there’s NOTHING good in them! why are _you_ even trying?!”

“YOU ARE WRONG, BROTHER,” called Papyrus, not unkindly. “THE HUMAN WILL CHANGE.”

His soul twisting in his chest, Sans pushed himself out of the chair and proceeded to shove it over, then furiously rammed his foot against it for good measure. Hearing the commotion, his brother quickly reappeared; seeing his state he rushed over.

“BROTHER, IT’S OKAY,” he assured, gently resting his gloved hands on his shoulders. This time, Sans shook his head.

“no, no, it isn’t, i-it really isn’t,” he muttered, going on to say something similar until Papyrus pulled him close.

“IT IS. I’LL BE BACK, I PROMISE.”

“you won’t. t-they’ll kill you, th-hey always...” Sans choked back a sob, wrapping his own arms around his brother.

“I’LL RETURN BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, SANS. YOU CAN TRUST ME.” He nuzzled the top of his skull, then pulled away, moving to wipe away the tears that had started to pour from his eye-sockets. “PLEASE, TRY NOT TO FEEL SAD. EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY. I SWEAR TO YOU, IT WILL.”

It wouldn’t. It really, really wouldn’t, but he could never know that. It was bad enough Sans let _anything_ slip out of him, even if he was aware of Papyrus’s fate.

He didn’t deserve to know. He should be smiling, always. He deserved to be happy, he deserved to _live_ , right up until the moment he no longer was.

Sans didn’t. He was useless, useless to his brother, useless to everyone.

Nodding shakily, reluctantly, he let him go.

* * *

It’d only been a few minutes since Papyrus went out the door. Sans was watching outside the window, alert as ever, his eye-lights dim and small.

They showed up, a moment later. A knife was in their hand, as always. Their purple and blue shirt was covered in snow and dust, as always. Their expression was blank, as always.

Everything was as it would be, always. And Sans despised it. If this was how it would always be, then why even try, he thought.

...Well, that’s what his previous thought was. But he remembered his earlier conversation with his brother. How insistent he’d been, how _determined_. How he would try _anything_ , even at the cost of his own life.

He knew what it might cost him, he knew it right now, Sans was sure of that. And yet, he still tried.

Every time, he tried.

Every time, he told Sans to try, and he didn’t. He didn’t even attempt to.

He never tried. He _never_ had. He was too weak. Too afraid.

But somewhere, deep down, he wanted to, because Papyrus told him to. Because he did the same. Because he believed he _could_ , and he believed _Sans_ could.

And, even if it wouldn’t make a difference—he knew it wouldn’t—Sans wanted to try, too.

He appeared in front of the human, instantly taking them off guard. He used it to his advantage and turned their soul blue, suspending them in the air.

He wanted so desperately to kill them, right now.

Just to get it over with.

Not a moment later, however, he heard a shout from behind, further up the path:

“SANS, WAIT!!!”

He stopped, and whipped around.

“DON’T KILL THEM! PLEASE LET THEM GO!!”

Ah, of course Papyrus still wouldn’t want him to kill them. Even now, he was determined they could change.

Sans let his grip on the human’s soul fade. He let them go, though he didn’t truly wish to. Perhaps the sight of his brother struck him, given the fact he usually didn’t see him again until another reset happened.

But it wasn’t what he should have done, regardless; because once they hit the ground once more, they raised their knife, ready, and dove forward.

He briefly recalled Papyrus screeching at him to dodge out of the way. He didn’t. He couldn’t. He hadn’t seen it coming, despite everything.

Distantly, as Sans fell, something red escaping through his front, he saw the human go for Papyrus next. Papyrus didn’t let them, and suspended them with his own magic. When he was certain they couldn’t move, he dropped to his brother’s side, shouting something from far, far away. Probably shouting at him to get up. But he couldn’t. Sans knew what was happening. It was happening all over again, just a bit different this time.

He had failed.

“SANS?” was all Papyrus got out after a moment, weakly, and Sans realized there were tears in his eyes. Why? He didn’t have reason to cry!

Choking on the same red substance that was pouring out of his chest, Sans grinned up at his brother, bigger than he’d grinned in years. “see? i tried,” he let out a laugh, but it only turned into a sob. “y-you told me to try, and i did.”

“S-Sans...” He said his name in a soft, small voice, like he actually felt bad this was happening. Tears were running town his cheekbones, like this actually mattered.

Sans attempted to say something else, to assure him it was okay, but his vision was getting blurrier, and darker. He was letting himself go already. Honestly, he’d always been weak like that. He’d always let things happen, simply doing nothing.

But, that did not mean anything now, for he was dying.

None of it was important, for in the end, above all else, he had tried.

And so, he let the darkness consume him, just as Papyrus turned on the human.


	2. Strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Papyrus knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the next one! sorry if it's a little rushed and so dialogue-heavy, i tried. ;-;

A mere moment after Sans closed his eyes for the final time—at least, the final time before he came back, he presumed—they blinked open again, as he was suddenly conscious; and in his bed, apparently. Which didn’t normally happen straight away. Normally, he’d be stuck here for a few minutes at a time. He didn’t know where “here” was, exactly (everything was a void, when he turned to dust), but all the same, he wouldn’t leave until the human reset again.

As it was, this clearly didn’t happen to be the case this time. But why? Why had the human reset so suddenly? They’d killed him! They’d won! Unless they _died_ , there was no reason for him to be alive again for the time being.

However, if that was the case, what could have—

Sans didn’t have time to ponder, or sit up much at all, as he heard a door open rather loudly, sounding nearby. Then it happened again, closer. His own bedroom door flew open and hit the wall _hard_ , no doubt causing a permanent dent with the force it was propelled with.

It took him a few seconds to process the sight in front of him; when he did, he was no less confused.

There, standing in his doorway, shaking like a leaf, was Papyrus. His cheeks were still wet with fallen tears, somehow, and all positive and confident light the taller skeleton usually shone with had dwindled to something darker, much more agitated and frightful.

How was he...

“SANS!!” his brother choked out, still sounding so desperately hurt, as if he still... “A-ARE YOU...”

He broke off, voice cracking. Disoriented out of his mind, Sans didn’t move a figurative muscle, even when Papyrus all but sprinted across the room, capturing the shorter skeleton in a tight and tender hug, flinging his arms around the other like he hadn’t seen him in _years_.

“I-I’m so sorry, brother,” lamented Papyrus, his voice a broken shell of its former self. “I-I didn’t mean to... That wasn’t supposed to happen, and—”

“huh?” was all Sans could get out, weakly. His brother sniffled, somehow managing to clutch him tighter without harming him.

“I should have stopped them, but... But I didn’t know how! Th-then I saw you die, a-a-and—”

 _What_?

Sans tried to push him away, not unkindly, looking him dead in the eyes. “wh-what _?_ ” he asked shakily. “how the hell... h-how do you remember that?”

Papyrus blinked, as though he couldn’t really process the question at first. Then, in hesitation, he glanced away.

“ _Papyrus_ ,” Sans grounded out, emphatic. “how do you remember me dying.”

His brother clearly knew it wasn’t really a request, but more of a command, to answer; even still, he refused to meet his gaze, appearing distressed. Sans almost asked again, but then he replied meekly, after a moment: “You’re not the only one.”

Sans stared back at him apprehensively, on a thin line between not understanding entirely/wanting to know the thing he was missing, and dreading what he thought _might_ _be_ the thing he was missing. “what do you mean?”

“YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE TO... REMEMBER EVERYTHING.” His voice had gotten back just a bit of its normal steadfastness, but he smiled ruefully. It was forced.

Sans pulled away further, eye-lights dim and small in his big sockets. His hands had begun to shake at some point, and Papyrus moving forward to cradle them in his did little to help.

Choking, on seemingly nothing, the shorter managed, “y-you do? you—”

But Papyrus was already nodding.

Sans asked once more, just to make sure—his voice was crackly in his throat, barely audible. His brother heard it anyway. He confirmed it, again.

The room fell silent. Sans stared back at Papyrus, and Papyrus didn’t press him. And, as though the shaking in his hands had evolved its own bigger virus, Sans started trembling. A stinging began behind his eyes, and he felt himself being quickly pulled into another embrace, just as a ugly sob finally broke from him.

“i’m sorry,” he started repeating, like a broken record, over and over, “i’m sorry, i’m sorry, i...”

Just barely easing his rambling, Papyrus rubbed his brother’s back continuously, gently, and murmured, “THERE IS NOTHING TO BE SORRY FOR, BROTHER. IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT.”

“yes it _is_ , i-i didn’t even... i should’ve...” Somehow, though it seemed impossible, his eyes stretched even wider, as he came to a sudden realization. He pulled away yet again, eyeing his brother with borderline horror. “b-but... the human. what—”

Again, Papyrus smiled weakly. “I REMEMBER THEM TOO. AND... WHAT THEY DID.”

Oh gods. So that meant... “but why the _hell_ would you—” He broke off as his voice cracked, then started again. “a-and... and you went out there anyway?! knowing what it meant, what it meant to _me_?!” He wanted so desperately to believe his brother wasn’t just _crazy_ , at this point, but _why_ —

“why would you... do that to me?” Sans inquired hoarsely.

Papyrus’s grin, fake as it was, slipped, and he let his hands fall into his lap. “I’M... SORRY THINGS ENDED UP LIKE THAT. I DIDN’T MEAN FOR THEM TO, I PROMISE.” He met his brother’s gaze helplessly, and went on softly, “I’M SORRY FOR LEAVING YOU, ALL THOSE TIMES. I... I DO KNOW HOW IT PAINED YOU. BUT, I DO NOT REGRET THE CHOICES I MADE REGARDING THAT, BECAUSE I STILL BELIEVE THE HUMAN HAS GOOD IN THEM; NO, I _KNOW_ THEY HAVE GOOD IN THEM.

“AND SINCE I KNOW THAT—” he plastered on another assuring, gleeful smile, and _gods_ , did it hurt, “—IT IS WORTH IT TO GO THROUGH THIS!”

“Pap—”

Papyrus interrupted, “IF FRISK BROUGHT US TO THE SURFACE ONCE, THEY CAN DO IT AGAIN.”

Oh, how Sans wanted to believe him, to _trust_ him; but it was too good to _ever_ be true. Surely, his brother knew that, deep down? Surely...

And yet, even after all this time... Even after all the times they’d _killed_ him, _killed everyone_ , and threw his words right back in his face. How could Papyrus _do_ that? How could he _be_ like that?

_How could he have put up with it?_

How did he do it, when Sans was _barely_ even hanging on himself?

_How could he be so strong?_

“i’m sorry,” he croaked, again, because he really, truly was. He _never_ had wanted his brother to suffer, even a little; to think that he _had_ , in _that way_...

_He was such a horrible brother._

_He was so weak._

“i’m sorry. i didn’t realize you had to...” He stopped himself, a bitter taste in his mouth.

“IT’S OKAY, SANS,” assured Papyrus, already pulling him into yet another hug, nuzzling his skull against his. “I DON’T MIND IT; I SIMPLY WANTED TO SEE _YOU_ HAPPY.”

“th-hat’s stupid,” he breathed into his brother’s scarf, deciding not to use up what little energy he had left to apologize for getting it wet with his tears. Papyrus shook his head gently against his own.

“NO, IT’S NOT. I JUST WANT THE BEST FOR YOU. AND THAT IS WHY IT’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING THAT THE HUMAN SPARES US, IN THE END,” he added gently, continuing to rub comforting circles in his brother’s back. “SO THAT THEY CAN LET US LIVE ON PEACEFULLY, AND YOU CAN BE HAPPY. REALLY, THAT’S ALL I WANT FOR YOU, BROTHER.”

Sans merely shook his head, and buried his face into Papyrus’s chest, letting more tears fall from his sockets.

He doubted things would change from this, but...

Maybe, somewhere, somehow, there was a chance.


	3. Able

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which it ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize if this seems super late, i had a hard time finding inspiration to write it in the way i wanted  
> and i know it's probably going to seem anticlimactic but eh
> 
> anyway, I just want to thank you guys so, so much for your comments and support on this story. This is honestly the most criticism/thorough feedback I've ever gotten on an idea I've had. To be honest, when I first started it, I didn't give it much thought myself, and didn't consider it as deeply as some of you have. I underestimated everyone truthfully haha! I truthfully don't think it deserves it that much? But still, it makes me so very happy to see how invested you guys have been in this particular work, and to know I have such a captive audience is really, truly awesome. Even if this might not be the ending everyone wanted, or I didn't cover everything, I'm glad all of you took the time to check it out anyway. Thank you so much for reading. <33
> 
> Without further adieu, here's the last chapter!

Papyrus was never one to wallow in sadness. Just the opposite, in fact. If something was bothering him, he would simply do a task to alleviate it. Even if somebody else felt sad, he'd rather give them a pep talk than share in their grief. Sure, it was probably selfish. But that's just how he worked.

At least, that's how he _used_ to work. In this moment, things were different. He realized he couldn't just ignore everything anymore. Even if the human did change, he thought, what good would it do, really?

It... Wasn't something he would normally ponder. Even now, it made him uneasy. But, what was different this time, is that his brother wasn't doing well.

At first, Sans simply brushed it off, when Papyrus asked. Something about the human having not shown up yet was getting to him; not just that, but he was worried. And clearly upset. He wasn't mad, per se, but he had snapped at him a few times, enough for Papyrus to know why. No, he wasn't mad. Sans was afraid.

He was very afraid, because of what Papyrus had done. He was scared he'd go out there again, when the time came. He was terrified that Papyrus didn't understand the weight of his actions. Papyrus did; well, he thought he did. Now he wasn't so sure. Now he, too, was afraid of the things he had done, because of how it affected Sans.

...Gods, he'd been so stupid. He knew that now, after seeing the pain he'd truly caused his brother. He thought he'd been helping, but at what cost?

Sans denied Papyrus had hurt him, if only to convince him not to feel bad, but he knew better. It was his fault. He really had been selfish, even if he wasn't trying to be. He’d lied about everything; Sans didn’t know but he lied about not regretting his choices. He wasn’t strong. He never had been.

So, when the human came back, he decided not to go out again. Maybe they'd killed everyone, maybe they didn't. It did not matter. He did not reiterate what he already knew—what he _should’ve_ known—wouldn't work. Perhaps, somehow, it would have, if he continued. But again, it did not matter.

If they truly ever thought that way, they wouldn't be doing it in the first place, now would they?

Sans was looking out the window again, his smile still on his face but blank, not genuine. He hadn't told him yet, that he wouldn't leave. He likely was anticipating it to happen, as always. He didn't expect otherwise. He never had.

...Papyrus should have told him everything sooner. Then things might not be like this.

Sans could have convinced him, and he wouldn't be so sad all the time. Maybe that's why Sans was hopeless: because Papyrus hadn't allowed him to feel otherwise.

_He was such a horrible brother._

“uh... Pap?”

Oh, right. Sans was still there. Quickly, Papyrus forced a grin back in place. “YES, BROTHER?”

The other skeleton jabbed his thumb at the window. “human’s here, remember?”

He followed his gaze hesitantly. “YES, I SUPPOSE THEY ARE...”

“so? you gonna do your speech?” He sounded bitter. At what, Papyrus didn’t know. (Part of him hoped it was him.)

“MY SPEECH?” he repeated, a bit dumbly, and his voice cracked. Sans’s expression fell.

“wh—did i say something wrong?” It took a moment for Papyrus to realize he was frowning again.

“NO.”

“then why are you...” He stopped. His eye-sockets were still trained on Papyrus’s face, but the lights in them intensified a little, for some reason.

...Oh. _Oh_. That wasn’t very good. Since when had he gotten so bad at faking things?

He smiled broadly, even if he knew it made no difference, at this point. “I-IT’S OKAY, I’M FINE!” As though to somehow prove this, he quickly wiped his cheekbones. “I’M BEING DUMB.”

“Pap—”

“I’M NOT GOING.”

Well. That was one way of putting it. Maybe be less abrupt next time, though?

“uh......” His brother stared at him, blankly.

Yeah, he should probably clarify.

“I’M NOT GOING TO TRY THIS TIME,” he went on firmly—at least, he tried to, as his words shook. “I’M STAYING HERE.”

Sans’s bone-brows raised slightly, either not understanding quite yet, or not believing. “...are you?” he asked, and clearly, it was the latter.

“YES. I WON’T TRY TO CHANGE THEM.” After all this time, saying that... Hurt, for some reason. Like he was giving up.

But, then he saw the look on his brother’s face. And he remembered why he was giving it up.

All at once, it was as if Sans had been told things would be right again; like Papyrus had assured him he’d never be alone again. He started laughing. _Laughing_.

“UM... BROTHER?” inquired Papyrus apprehensively, thinking he finally broke him, after all these years.

He then quickly dove to catch him, as Sans began teetering over. Papyrus open and closed his mouth, peering down at him, unsure of what to say, because really, what could he say?

Sans merely started shaking his head, mumbling something that sounded like, “’m good.”

“ERR... YOU OBVIOUSLY AREN’T ‘GOOD.’”

“nah, ‘m good.”

“NO...?”

Sans giggled again, making Papyrus clutch him tighter, worry creasing on his skull. He stated matter-of-factly, “YOU’RE SCARING ME.”

Once more he laughed and Papyrus checked him to make sure he wasn’t sick. Sans just kept chuckling to himself.

“I’M BEING SERIOUS, SANS.”

“i know, sorry.”

Finally, he stopped. But then Papyrus noticed there were tears welling up in his sockets, so the lack of laughter didn’t really comfort him at all.

“SANS, I REALLY THINK YOU SHOULD REST—”

“do you really mean it?”

Papyrus shut his jaw with a _click_. “UM. YES?”

“no, no, i mean,” he looked briefly amused before the edges of his smile turned themselves inward again. “about staying.”

“...OH.”

“you’re... really not gonna stop them?”

He shook his head, “IT WON’T MATTER.”

“it won’t?”

“NOT IF IT... HURTS YOU.”

He fidgeted, glancing away. Sans began softly, “but you said—”

“I KNOW WHAT I SAID.” Upon realizing he’d interrupted, he winced, though Sans didn’t seem to mind. “AND I... I DIDN’T REALLY MEAN IT.”

“...you didn’t?”

“I KNOW, IT DOESN’T REALLY MAKE SENSE, BUT...” Papyrus kept fidgeting, and Sans had to place a hand on his shoulder to make him sit still. “I DO REGRET WHAT I DID. I’M NOT STRONG, LIKE YOU THINK I AM.”

“bro...”

“I’m not,” he reiterated, quietly, his voice dropping. “I am... I’m very selfish. I try to help, but I don’t. And it hurts you. I even let you die, because of my foolishness.

“I... Can’t deny I’ve still seen good in the human,” he went on. “Every time, I swear it. And I thought if I just... Kept saying it, something would change. If I just said it more convincingly—if I just smiled wider, spoke kinder—I would remind them of how they once were. How things used to be.”

“but it... never worked.”

Papyrus nodded slowly, then hung his head. “I haven’t been honest, brother. I’m not sure if I ever was. I lie a lot, probably more than you do. I try to... Set my own outcomes, sometimes. But you’re right. It never works. I’m not great. I wish I could be strong, and smart, like you are, but I’m...”

“you _are_ those things,” Sans cut in, but Papyrus shook his head.

“Not in the way you see it. You believe in me too much.”

Sans’s eye-lights flickered. “...and you don’t?”

Papyrus offered him a small, rueful grin. “I used to.”

His brother let out a single chuckle, then fell silent, his sockets dark.

“...guess we’re both broken, then.”

“No,” Papyrus countered gently, “not broken. Just...”

He smiled, genuinely, for the first time since he could remember. Then he pulled his brother closer into an embrace, resting his head atop his.

“In need of some improvements, maybe,” he hummed, and Sans let out another laugh, just as real.

* * *

Things, in general, seemed to be improving.

It turned out, the human hadn’t killed anyone, during all that time; in fact, they’d completely gone past everyone, seemingly looking for the skeleton brothers. They showed up at the house. Papyrus decided to hear them out, against Sans’s protests.

They were... Concerned, interestingly enough. After resetting, they realized how different things had turned out for them, and they wanted to know why.

Apparently, the only reason they hadn’t considered what they were doing that wrong, was because they didn’t think anyone remembered. Which was definitely not the case. They felt bad for their actions, yes, but not enough to change, at first.

Sans thought it was bullcrap. Papyrus did too, partially, but listened to them anyway, because if there was any chance at his brother making it through this, he wanted to take it. Well, on the one condition they take everyone to the surface this time—no exceptions, and no resetting. Otherwise they’d find their future runs to be... Not entirely pleasant, as he put it.

They agreed, and eventually, monsterkind was freed. Sans was less than happy about it, but didn’t seem all that disappointed either, so there was progress! ...Mostly.

Granted, even then, neither trusted the human fully, of course. It would take a long, long time for that trust to come back, but... There was hope. And, Papyrus would do things right this time, personally. It wasn’t enough just to believe in someone, in the end. They had to believe in themselves too, and make their own choices. He saw that now.

Currently, he didn’t quite believe in himself, after all that had happened to him and his brother. Sans had forgiven him, of course, that didn’t change; but he didn’t know if he could forgive himself just yet. It might take a while, just as long as it might take for him to trust Frisk again.

And yet, it was still progress. Even if he might never regain his confidence, and Sans might never regain his hope, he at least knew he had room to improve, for the two of them. Neither of them were strong, or weak, it turned out. Neither of them knew what it meant to be truly unbroken. They didn’t have all the answers, and didn’t know how to handle situations perfectly, like they thought they could before; and they didn’t need to. They didn’t even have to try.

If they could just try to be the _greatest_ them they could possibly be, then that was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah, i know i didn't touch on a lot of things, like Frisk's actions and how Frisk should have been punished regardless of their intentions afterwards, or even how Papyrus's own actions truly affected Sans in the end, or just, how fast the ending came when they all went to the surface, but this story isn't really focused on that. Sorry, there's only so much I can pack into this. I guess I could make a part two, if I really had inspiration for it, just to clear things up a little more...? But I don't know how many people would be interested in that or how well it'd work out. Just, let me know your thoughts I guess, haha.


End file.
